Do you have 10 minutes to spare to get caught up on the news?
ABC News is hoping to get a “yes” from Disney+ subscribers, as the network launched its exclusive daily news show, What You Need to Know, on Monday, July 21.
Anchored by ABC News’ chief international correspondent James Longman and senior political correspondent Rachel Scott, What You Need to Know joins ABC News’ around-the-clock programming available on Disney+.
Available every morning at 6 a.m. ET, with an evening edition hosted by Scott set to launch in the near future, What You Need to Know steers clear of a traditional newscast, forgoing a typical studio presentation for an on-location approach.
“We’re actually asking the cameras to follow us while we do our work, which I think makes this really unique,” said Longman of the show’s different presentation style.
TVNewser caught up with the two anchors on the day of the show’s launch as they were in New York City, at ABC News’ new headquarters at 7 Hudson Square. Among the things they discussed are what separates their new bite-sized show from other ABC News newscasts and the advice Longman gave Scott in dealing with her upcoming nuptials.
TVNewser: How was day one of the show?
Longman: Day One was incredible. This is a big new thing for Disney+—a daily show of any description, let alone news—and it all went seamlessly. It was incredible. I got in this morning at 2:30 a.m., and the team was up from midnight, so the whole team stayed up all night to make sure that we could record this from 4:15 a.m. We had 25 minutes to record it. Then we were done by five to 5:00. And then it went out and was cut and put into the system. And yeah, it was extraordinary. I mean, it just went exactly how we’d hope.
Scott: It’s exciting. You could feel that sort of buzz and energy from the people, from colleagues and friends who were logging on to Disney+, seeing it featured front and center, and tuning in. We’re excited for what’s to come.
How does this work with you each being in Washington, D.C., or London?
Longman: Well, the whole point of it is that we are taking you with us. This is not a show where we come to sit behind a desk. We’re asking the cameras to follow us while we do our work, which makes this unique. As it stands in the morning, I’ll be doing a drop, which lands at 6:00 every morning on Disney+. I can record that from London, which helps me with the time zone. Actually, about six months of the year I’m on the road, and I’m usually going east, so it gets better and better for me time-wise. The point is, if I’m wherever—last month, I could have been at the Ahmedabad air crash, I could have been in Iraq, or I could have been in Israel—so we’re giving you news in under 10 minutes, but also a little bit of our experience from where we are. Rachel will be able to do the same thing from D.C., following the president everywhere he goes.
